Why I Upgraded to the iPhone 7, Even Without the Headphone Jack

Good blog post. I also don't like the fact that you now have to buy a bunch of accessories to do what used to cost you nothing when you bought a new iPhone. I had my eye on the dock for a while, but I tried it at the Apple store and found out that it doesn't work with the case I have on my SE. IMO BT lag is a deal breaker for us VO users, although I haven't knowingly tried anything using bluetooth 4.0. I don't have any interest in the air pods since they seem to be very dependent on Siri. Having to ask Siri to turn up the volume? No thanks. As for the W 1 chip Apple is including potentially reducing the lag, go to an Apple store and play with the new Beats since they also have the chip. I'm gonna do that the next time I can get down there.
The removing the headphone jack could turn out like the third gen iPod Shuffle. Remember that? You had to have the then new headphones with remote to control it, which didn't bother me, but it did a lot of people. Third parties released adapters that allowed you to plug in standard headphones. It wasn't a surprise that the next year, the second gen form factor was back.

It may not be a huge deal to not have a headphone jack. But with the iPhone 7, you're paying a premium to have the future now.

I never did both at the same time. When I had done it, it had rad to some broken charging cables. Now, i have a Bohm b86 headset and I love it. I think I would love the 7.

Hello Darrell. Thanks for your good blog post. My question is about smart battery case. Do you always attach your iPhone 7 in to the smart battery case? Won't it make your iPhone battery life cycle decrees? Or may be your iPhone can last till the end of day with the smart battery case? Thanks.

The subject line says it all. It's weird to not have a headphone jack, but since I purchased Bluetooth headphones a while back I don't find that i'm using them as much as I thought I would. So the loss of the headphone jack is weird, but only because I've never seen a phone that doesn't have one. I'm sure we will all make this jump in time, and one day the loss of the headphone jack will be a distant memory. Yes it worked great for years and still does on a lot of devices. I've got a couple mp3 players I still use with the legacy headphones and they work great. Time will tell. If apple doesn't receive any real complaints about the headphone jack being gone, they'll continue in this direction. My only question is how it's been effecting users with hearing aids?

I have four, yes four, pairs of Earpods. I don't use any of them, two are still all nicely wrapped in their plastic pachage case. If I get next year's phone, as I just got the six S plus, I will again shove the headphones in a drawer, or ok fine, keep one set in my purse for the ATM. The airpods I'll check into. I don't like the two hundred dollar price, ok one fifty, but if they feel nice in the ear, and do what I need, so I don't have to hold the phone up to my head like a dork, I'll take it.

I really hate the fact that if I buy a new iPhone, I have to use the same jack for both charging and headphone. Also, using a headphone that has a lightning jack instead of a 3.5mm jack seems really crazy with me. I don't even see the advantages of this 'revolution'.

I'm not looking forward to the day I have to get a iPhone with no headphone jack. When that sad horible terrible no good very bad future day comes I will likely break down and buy the 2 in 1 lightning adapter splitter link below. That will then mean my phone will have its own personal kite tail and I'll be walking my phone down the street but that's the price I'll have to pay because a corperation tells everyone what they want.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/09/08/belkin-announces-simultaneous-lightning-headphone-and-charging-adapter-for-iphone-7

Jeff do you want some cheese with that whine? After all you're the consumer who is buying the product so no one's making you buy it. You could easily go over to android which still has the headphone jack. For now. I never charge my phone and listen at the same time so this is not an issue to me either. The only time I would see myself doing that is maybe a road trip which I'm going on this weekend so we will see how that goes. All I'm going to say is if you're not happy with the iPhone changes you should look elsewhere instead of crying on a message board. The headphone jack is gone it will not come back magically for the 7S or eight or whatever going to call the next phone.

I currently have the iPhone 6, myself, and am planning to grab the iPhone 7 once my contract is up.

Honestly, I've never felt the need to charge my phone and listen via headphones at the same time. Not sure why.

My battery usually lasts all day and I only charge it overnight. The only time I nearly ran out my battery was during intense play of a game and I suppose I could see wanting to continue playing (with headphones) while charging, though the shortness of the charge cable would make it awkward anyhow.

The very few niche cases where I may need to charge and headphone at the same time, I don't think I'd be too put out using a bluetooth set - it'd already be awkward using the phone with the charge cord attached anyhow.

So long story short - I really don't mind the lack of the headphone jack and will be getting one. But to each their own!

Oh - as an addendum. The main draw for me is the 32GB storage space, as the 16GB storage on the iPhone 6 is starting to get extra restrictive.

Who hasn't spilled something on their IOS device? I have, you have, even if it was that shot of rum you meant to slug down before hitting play on your music. Apple got rid of the headphone jack, andhome button, as both were crucial for debris to get inside. Again, who hasn't thumbed their home button while shoving in the greasy slice ofpizza? I'm careful, not perfect. It seems as though apple may try to go for a wireless charging capability and if they don't? Who among us has one of those smart battery caes,apple figures you'll charge yourphone somehow, so really why is this junk about listening and charging at the same time a big deal? Joe, loved your post btw. ;)

I haven't spilled a thing on my iPhone mainly because I just got mine this year and I'm careful with it even more so now. I'd rather live for the now than paying extra to live for the supposed future. If all companies agreed and got rid of the headphone jack that would be another story but right now I see it as a money scheme. As I said a day will come when I will probably have to get an iPhone with no headphone jack but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it either. For now I am very happy with my 6S. For the cheese comment ha, ha, like I never heard that one before...

I have a 6S, but went ahead and purchased a pair of Apple's lightning earbuds. Personally, I can't tell the difference in music yet, and maybe that's cause either my phone can't process HD music or I just haven't found any to listen to yet. I don't usually listen to music while charging either, but I imagine by the time I do get a new iPhone, there will be many more wireless charging options out there in case I do decide I wish to listen and charge at the same time.

I think this entire thing about the headphone jack or lack there of has been blown way out of control. Trust me folks, eventually every manufacture will follow suit, apple is just doing it first. Do you remember when floppy disks were being phased out and apple was at the forefront of that along with others? People freaked out about that too…and how did that turn out? No one is making anyone buy anything, if you are happy with your current phone by all means keep it. The advantages far out way the lack of a headphone jack. Am I telling you to buy one, no but is it the end of the world, absolutely not.

To be honest the last time I used my headphone jack was back in the day when there were issues hearing voiceover while on a call e.g navigating automated phone systems.

Perhaps Apple has removed the 3.45mm jack in order to save lives...
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/warning-over-usb-chargers-after-woman-dies-from-apparent-electrocution-20140626-zsngd.html
but, more likely, I'm just stirring the pot. :)

@SeaNoEvil00

Or perhaps they unknowingly made life alot harder for a group of people living in low income. To each their own.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/26/13063738/apple-iphone-7-headphone-jack-internet-access-low-income-households

This was a well-written post. That said, the (to me) insane expense incurred to get something approximating what you had with an earlier iteration of this device is exactly why I have no interest in the iPhone 7. I'm still using a 5S, and will keep doing so until it stops receiving software updates (yes, I know that could be as soon as next year) or the apps on which I depend stop functioning. But then again, I'm past the point in my life where I want or need the absolute latest and greatest tech, so this is an easy decision for me.

I got my iPhone on 9/16/16, an still had not use the ear pod that it came with the phone. It seem that the battery is lasting longer. I coud be hearing audio book for 2 hours and the battery goes down very, very slow. Also I have one ear pease bluetooth tat last 11 hours of talking. In the past I used my head jack 2 times a year. No one is forcing anyone to get iPhone 7. May the apple be with you.

I have an iPhone 6. I almost never use headphones or earbuds because I can't find any that are comfortable enough to make it worth my while. I'm wondering if the stereo speakers make listening to music while charging a better experience. I used to always use a speaker with a 3.5 plugin, if I used anything.

From what I have heard, the 6 and 6S actually have better speakers in them. Keep in mind that for a decent stereo experience, you need more than three or four inches of separation between the left and right channels, which the 7 doesn't adequately provide. You will most likely want to hang on to your existing accessories.

number 1, absolutely every pocket-sized phone I've owned since 2000 or so has at some point made a trajectory between my shirt pocket and the dog's water bowl. Losing the jack wins ultimately on these grounds alone. But...
number 2, I have pairs of very cheap earbuds next to my bed, in my backpack, in my office, my study, and usually in my pocket, used for not just my phone but Windows computers etc. I've had some of them for 20 years, probably, and not one of them has ever been fussy about pairing or run out of batteries. I also have $400 IEMs for music, and I don't want to trust them to the quality of the Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter. I'll be ok with the switch when Apple switches to a universal connector like usb-c so that digital headphones will work on all my devices and when I can get cheap speech-worthy earbuds in that format.
number 3, I did the audiophile thing for a few years and have thousands invested in my audio system. I have maybe 500 DSD albums and who knows how many 24-bit albums. To the folks wondering about hi-res above, it's 99.99% consumer hype--a product for the sake of selling a new product. Under the right conditions, it can make a bit of a difference, but it's "detectable" more than "meaningful." I don't reach for them any more than my mp3s and won't pay more than $2 extra to buy a hi-res version. What matters so much more is what happened in the mastering booth. Even so, I'm glad hi-res will be possible, because downsampling to the phone is somewhat more detectable and I don't want to lose any potential quality because of the phone. It wasn't the jack holding Apple back, though, since almost every DAC chip made for the past 10+ years has been 24-bit capable. Hi-res really eats up your bandwidth and storage, btw.
All that being said, I just bought an SE on purely economical grounds. I don't like paying over $500 for a device so easily lost, broken, or stolen, particularly when I will replace it in 2 years when the battery starts to lose its umph.

Hearing aid users have options that can Bluetooth audio direct to their aids both via accessories or to the aids themselves, depending on which kind of aid one has. In this way since the hearing aid is already programmed to their hearing loss, they don't need to try to find a way to EQ the audio etc. The frequency response of aids though is nothing like any headphones (even the cheapest ones), so there is that to consider. As for me, I depend on the analog headphone jack and charging my device while using a headphone jack. I rarely use my phone without headphones (and high end ones too.) if not that, I'm running the phone into a mixer. If I an using the phone with my aids, its streamed thru my Phonak ComPilot, which bluetooths the audio direct to my aids. This is how I can hear my phones audio at all when out, and the aids even duck normal everyday conversation when the phone goes off, so this way I can actually hear what my phone is saying at all when out. but most often, I'm totally dependant on the headphone jack. I've also got my phone jailbroken for other reasons for my hearing, plus just some cool cool stuff you can do with a jailbroken device. I have an iPhone 6 Plus that I got on December 23rd, 2014 (My first smartphone), and I have zero reason to even upgrade to the 6S Plus. Next time, I may go with the SE, or just try android. I'm very curious. and besides what kind of a DAC does apple put in that lightening to 3.5MM jack? I stream Tidal for my lossless music experience.

I forgot to mention that they make devices to stream the audio to those who have a cochlear implant too.

A new iPhone 7, 128GB was supposed to be on my doorstep today. Unfortunately, I will have to wait another day.

My primary reason to upgrade was to gain more storage space. My iPhone 6, 16GB was okay until I got the new Nearby Explorer app. I really like it, but I can't have the stuff I want on my phone. Other than that, I didn't have any issues with the 6, but, I am excited about getting a new phone.

I won't miss the headphone jack. I almost always do Bluetooth, or the phone's speaker.

I just figured I'd throw my perspective out there. My issue is not so much with the dumping of the headphone jack itself, as it is more that I dislike the 1 port philosophy Apple seems to be leaning toward. This is actually the first device that is 1 port only, even the 12 inch Macbook has a headphone jack. I'm just not a fan of carrying around dongles for everything, I'd rather have a slightly thicker device that functions without needing to carry a bunch of accessories. And so if Appple keeps going the way of 1 port only, I'll migrate back to Windows or some other device which doesn't require my investment of more stuff. At this stage, for me, I see very little in the way of advantages to a 1 port system other than being more watter resistant. That said, I've never had any of my laptops or phones damaged by water. So for my user case, buying something like the iPhone 7 offers very little in the way of convenience over the SE, but some additional inconveniences. I'll also wait a bit more for Bluetooth technology to mature before I decide where my next purchase will be. I know Apple seems to think I "don't have the courage" since I'm not dunping more money in to a newer system, which may be true, I just have courage to save my money instead. LOL.

I just got an iPhone 7 as my first one ever, and I'm really liking it. It seems to me that it came with a set of earbuds, or perhaps they're the new pods or whatever. I'm curious now what the 3rd jack is for? Regarding charging my iPhone while in use, I've done this a couple times thus far and have experienced no issues. My tutor at Second Sense recommended that I delete the apps which I know I won't use, and so I deleted GarageBand since it is also on my Mac. He said doing this will also preserve battery life. The phone was 32 gb, but I don't recall off the top of my head how much memory I freed up. But VoiceOver and Siri are very responsive on this phone. Yes I have used Siri a lot thus far.

More a curious question than a gripe or annoyance at this stage of the game, I do have to wonder why Apple removed the headphone jack. After all, from everything I hear the Samsung Galaxy s9 has the headphone jack as well as the waterproofing, and a fingerprint sensor, as well as face ID and an iris scanner, or is that a different phone running Android?